ABOVE: From left: Braelyn Faber, “Natalie/Ed”; Haakon Johnson, “Chad”; Laura Koch,“Sandra,” perform a scene in “All Shook Up” during rehearsal Thursday evening at Fairmont High School. The musical, put on by the Fairmont Opera House’s Fairmont Area Community Theater (FACT) will open at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 24.

FAIRMONT– Residents of Martin County and the surrounding area are in for a treat as next week the Fairmont Area Community Theater’s (FACT) production of “All Shook Up” opens at the Performing Arts Center at Fairmont High School. The musical is set in the 1950s and features songs by the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley.

FACT has had a presence in the community for over 65 years and while performances have traditionally been held on the Fairmont Opera House stage, this will be the second year it’s at the high school as the Opera House is closed to the public while funds are raised for needed repairs.

But, like they say in show business, the show must go on.

On selecting this number, Opera House Executive Director, Blake Potthoff, said, “We try to pick shows that lend themselves to the cast based on what we had in previous years and who we think we can recruit and have part of the show. We also think about what will go well in the community.”

He said the fact that this one features all Elvis music makes him believe it will be something the community and Opera House patrons will enjoy.

“As we continue to spread the message of saving the Opera House, we think we’ll get a lot of people to come see this and maybe bring their friends who haven’t heard about the Opera House. It’s an easy point to say, ‘hey, here’s this great show and by the way, here’s all the stuff about the Fairmont Opera House. We’d like to get back into our home,'” Potthoff said.

Sara Gudahl, the director of this year’s production, agreed that this show will be one that the community will enjoy and said that it’s proven to work well for their cast, too.

“It’s relatable to many ages. Who’d doesn’t love Elvis,” Gudahl said with a laugh.

She said this particular show, which FACT actually did around 2007, has 24 musical numbers in it, which is more than most of the shows they’ve done in the past.

“The singing and dancing is definitely pretty big on the list,” she said.

Gudahl explained that the show is similar to “Footloose,” in that a stranger visits a town and brings with them some excitement. The show is also similar to “Twelfth Night” in that there’s a love triangle of sorts that lends some comedy.

“I think the writers of the show were a little bit inspired by those storylines but wanted to tell it with Elvis Presley’s music. Every single song in the show is a song by Elvis,” she said.

There are 54 people across the cast, crew and pit. They started practicing the second week in June and have been practicing regularly every week since Monday through Thursday.

Gudahl said there is a good mix of returning and new people to FACT this year.

“We have some returning people who have been in it several years in a row and it’s fun to see them take different roles and responsibilities but this year we had some new faces walk in which is exciting because they bring a new element into our dynamic and we love to see that. Our doors are open to anyone who would like to try out,” Gudahl said.

Braelyn Faber has returned for her third FACT performance this year. The MCW graduate just finished her first year at Wartburg College where she’s studying music therapy. She plays Natalie/Ed in “All Shook Up.”

“I love our cast. This is probably the best chemistry we’ve had as a cast in any show I’ve been in. It’s so fun. It’s cast perfectly,” Faber said.

She plans to keep continuing with FACT productions.

“It’s so nice to come home and do this in the summer,” Faber said.

There’s also a team of returning volunteers who help make the show possible. This includes vocal coach, Molly Bleess, pit director, Katie Hoaglund, choreographer, Courtney Steuber and set designers, Jay and Tamarae Schmidt.

Gudahl agreed that it really takes a village to put a show like this on.

“When you say community theater, that’s exactly what it is and we come from a lot of communities,” Gudahl said.

She explained that this year cast and crew members are coming from Blue Earth, Winnebago, Truman, Sherburn, Welcome and Fairmont.

“It’s fun to see people from all over come together to put this on,” Gudahl said.”I see how much work these people put in this summer to bring these stories to life so every person that walks through the doors is a blessing to not only the Opera House but to me and them and their work.”

Potthoff has long seen the value of community theater as he himself participated as a youth and now has gone on to keep it alive as director of the Opera House. His determination to keep it going is spearheading fundraising efforts. It was actually on July 23, 2024 opening night of last year’s FACT production, when the Opera House’s Capital Campaign was launched.

“We’re not at $4 million yet, which is ultimately the measuring stick of success in keeping the Opera House open, but of the $1 million that’s been raised, 99.9 percent of that is from Minnesota and 99.3 is from Martin County. The residents of Martin County have shown up to say they believe in the space and want it to come back,” Potthoff said.

While he longs to see FACT on the Opera House stage, he’s grateful to have a space at all right now.

“The school has been really nice to work with. We’re fortunate that the PAC exists and we have a school district that believes in the arts,” Potthoff said.

However, he stressed that different venues and opportunities are needed to fit the needs and interests of a whole community.

“It’s a fine line. We can continue to do programming but we don’t want people to think, ‘well why do we need the Opera House,’ it’s a fine line because we want to do enough to keep people engaged, but we also know that we can’t do what we do well without the building,” Potthoff said.

To find out more about the Fairmont Opera House’s condition, or to donate, visit fairmontoperahouse.org. Tickets for “All Shook Up” can also be purchased online. Showtimes are 7 p.m. July 24-26, 2 p.m. on July 27, 7 p.m. July 31- Aug. 1 and 2 p.m. on Aug. 2.